Film Room: Christian McCaffrey's effectiveness as a receiver

Film Room: Christian McCaffrey's effectiveness as a receiver

His rushing stats have left a lot to be desired, but Panthers rookie Christian McCaffrey has definitely made his mark in the passing game.

McCaffrey leads all running backs in receptions (49) and targets (66) and is second only to Washington’s Chris Thompson with 378 receiving yards.

Against Tampa Bay in Week 8, McCaffrey was targeted seven times (most among Panthers receivers), catching five passes for 49 yards. For today’s film session, we’re going to take a look at some of his catches against the Buccaneers.

It’s midway through the first quarter, 3rd and 6 from the 33-yard line. The Panthers line up with a 2×2 formation, with inverted slots on both sides and McCaffrey in the backfield with Cam Newton. Tampa Bay shows a Cover 1 look, with the corners playing man coverage. Russell Shepard tightens a bit toward the formation.

Shepard’s shallow crossing route allows him to take the defender with him, creating space in the middle of the field for McCaffrey.

Lavonte David looked like he was going to cover the flat, but got caught up when McCaffrey broke back inside, giving him space to make the catch. His route-running has gotten more crisp as the season progresses.

At the first half two-minute warning, the Panthers are facing 2nd and 8 from the 49. This time, it’s a 3×1 set with trips to the left, tight end Ed Dickson as the single receiver right and McCaffrey in the backfield.

This is another example of McCaffrey’s outstanding route-running. The initial look is that McCaffrey was going to run a wheel route, but he breaks it inside after seeing the flat defender.

Tampa Bay had a middle underneath defender, but look how far back he was in his zone. Newton may have initially looked to Dickson on the deep route, but he was well covered, so Newton wisely checked down to McCaffrey for the easy completion and first down.

On 3rd and four from the 29 later in that drive, the Panthers again come out in 3×1, but this time bunch the receivers to the left and Kelvin Benjamin is the single receiver to the right. McCaffrey then motions left, behind the bunch, creating a four-receiver bunch set.

McCaffrey initially follows Devin Funchess, almost setting up trailing crossing routes, but then we see it was a pivot route from McCaffrey. Dickson takes care of the deep defender and two others follow Funchess, leaving McCaffrey wide open coming out of the pivot. Dickson running the corner off also gave McCaffrey enough room for some yards after the catch, getting the ball inside the 15.

While it’s disappointing that McCaffrey has run for just 117 yards on 49 carries, he makes up for it with the involvement in the passing game and return game. And with Kelvin Benjamin now in Buffalo, that should only create more opportunities for the No. 8 pick.